Malware is a broad term used to describe malicious software that infects computer systems and can have varying degrees of effects. For example, the effects of malware can range from irritating and unwanted adware and spyware to computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses that can render a computer system virtually useless. While the threat of malware is generally well-known to personal computer users, users of mobile devices are generally less aware that similar threats exist with respect to mobile devices. In fact, as the usage and capabilities of mobile devices increases, so too does the threat of contracting unwanted malware on mobile devices.
Although it is common practice to employ some type of antivirus application (the term antivirus referring to a wide variety of anti-malware software) on personal computers to detect and remove malware and repair its effects, the nature of mobile devices (e.g., memory constraints, processing constraints, battery life, etc.) presents certain obstacles to the implementation of similar antivirus applications. For example, typical antivirus applications executing on personal computers comprise a database of malware signatures, representative of known malware, against which system files can be compared to detect malware. Although the memory consumed by a database of malware signatures is acceptable in the context of the memory resources of a personal computer, it is not ideal in the context of the comparatively smaller memory resources of a mobile device. Moreover, because malware creators continuously introduce new and unique forms of malware, antivirus applications must be updated regularly to include signatures to identify new forms of malware. Accordingly, antivirus software providers routinely distribute definition files as updates to their antivirus applications. These updated definition files are typically retrieved from the antivirus software provider via the Internet. Here again, while the bandwidth used to retrieve updated definition files is acceptable in the context of a personal computer, mobile bandwidth is limited and expensive with data providers commonly enforcing data allowances and imposing fees on users that exceed these allowances. Likewise, the processing requirements to scan system files against the database of signatures are acceptable in the context of personal computers but are not ideal with respect to mobile devices.